


this is reaching for it

by santello (emotionalaffair)



Series: prompts [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Takes place post-Verdant Wind except this time Dedue gets to be there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 18:53:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23845666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emotionalaffair/pseuds/santello
Summary: For the first time in a long time, Dedue lets himself want something.
Relationships: Dedue Molinaro/Claude von Riegan
Series: prompts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1708705
Comments: 4
Kudos: 49





	this is reaching for it

**Author's Note:**

> **prompt: 350-500 words + romance + holding your breath**

“Nothing like a war to bring people together,” Claude likes to say, his laughter warm and resonant. Sometimes he’s talking about Fódlan, but most times he’s talking about the two of them.

The thing is, Dedue knows that Claude cares for him. After Shambhala, when neither of them were sure if they would live or die, Claude had told him so, impossibly kind and impossibly earnest.

“You don’t need to respond,” he’d said, smile reassuring. “I just wanted you to know.”

So. Now Dedue knows.

It’s all he can think of as the two of them sit and watch the sun go down over a newly unified Fódlan. Dedue’s never felt cared for – not in the way Claude means, anyway. He feels it now, though, more than ever, sitting in the orange glow of sunset, as Claude rests his chin on his hand and looks at him instead of the horizon, quiet affection rolling off him like waves. Claude may be good at hiding his feelings, but when it comes to Dedue, he’s always been an open book.

Dedue likes that about him. It’s nice to have one person, at least, who will never lie to him.

Since he lost his home, his life’s balance has felt so precarious. On tilt. His body hasn’t been his own. His feelings haven’t been his own. It’s like he’s been holding his breath all this time, just waiting for the next hardship, the next sacrifice. Like if he loosens his grip for even a second, everything will come crashing down over him again. He doesn’t even know what he’s holding on to.

It feels disrespectful to entertain the thought, but he feels that Dimitri’s death has freed him, in many ways. It’s hard to untangle that feeling, but as he feels Claude’s warm eyes on him, he knows it to be true.

For the first time in a long time, Dedue lets himself want something.

He wants to be cared for. It doesn’t need to be an epic romance – as a matter of fact, he thinks he’s had enough excitement for one lifetime. All he wants is to take a breath.

So, he exhales.

As the sun finally touches the mountains in the distance, Dedue reaches out and takes Claude by the hand. Claude’s eyes widen, his expression so giddily hopeful that it makes Dedue’s heart sing.

“Yes?” Claude says, a little breathless with it.

Dedue looks at him and shrugs nonchalantly, but the smile that comes to his face gives him away. Claude beams, presses his lips to Dedue’s knuckles, their hands still entwined. Dedue watches Claude’s face, fascinated by how bright his eyes still are in the dying light, and feels happy, ridiculously so.


End file.
